10 simple registry hacks for Windows XP and Vista
10 simple registry hacks for Windows XP and Vista
1: Increase the maximum number of simultaneous downloads
If you are a person like me always download a lot of stuff from the internet and irritated by windows limit of number of files to be downloaded simultaneously..here's how to tweak the registry so that Windows will let you download 10 files at a time here's how
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings.
b. Create a new DWORD named MaxConnectionsPerServer and assign it a value of 0000000a.
c. Create a new DWORD named MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and assign it a value of 0000000a.
2: Disable AutoPlay
How to just navigate quickly through the disc’s file system and go directly to what you need.here's how to create a registry setting that disables AutoPlay:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
b. Create a DWORD named NoDriveTypeAutoRun.
c. Set the value to 000000FF.
3: Change the name of the registered user
Here's how to change the name of the registered user
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
b. Change the values that are assigned to the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys to reflect the new ownership information.
4: Prevent the Recycle Bin from being deleted
If you want to prevent the Recycle Bin from accidental deletion, follow these steps:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCR\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}.
b. Create a new registry key called Shell.
c. Create a new registry key named Delete and put it beneath the Shell key. The path should look like this: HKCR\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell\Delete.
d. Modify the Default key and assign it a value of Recycle Bin.
5: Eliminate cached logons
Windows is designed to allow users to log on using cached logins if no domain controller is available to authenticate the request. If you want to make sure that a login request is always authenticated by a domain controller, you could change the number of cached logons that are allowed from 10 to 0 (or you could increase the number of cached logins allowed to 50). Here's how:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon.
b. Create a new REG_SZ setting named CachedLogonsCount.
c. Assign this new setting a value that reflects how many concurrent cached logins you want to allow.
6: Encrypt and decrypt from a shortcut menu
Normally, when you want to encrypt or decrypt a file in XP Pro or Vista, you just right-click on the file or folder and choose the Properties command from the shortcut menu. When the properties sheet appears, click the Advanced button on the General tab and then use either the Encrypt or the Decrypt option.
If you want ashortcut, you can add those options to the shortcut menu you see when you right-click on a file:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
b. Create a new DWORD called EncryptionContextMenu and assign it a value of 1.
7: Delay Windows Activation
Normaly, when an organization deploys Vista, it will create a master image, run SYSPREP, and deploy the image. The problem is that it might be a while between the time that SYSPREP is run and when Vista is actually deployed.
Microsoft will allow you to extend the activation period by 30 days, but you can do that only three times. You can use a registry hack this limitation:
a. Navigate through the registry to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SL.
b. Change the value associated with the SkipRearm key to 1.
c. Open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command: slmgr -rearm.
8: Relocate your offline files
When you use Vista’s Offline Files feature, the offline file cache is automatically placed on your C: drive.Her's how to transfer your file to your secondary hard drive...
a. Open the Control Panel and click on the Network And Internet link, followed by the Offline Files link. Windows will display the Offline Files properties sheet.
b. Disable offline files if they are currently enabled.
c. Click OK and reboot the machine.
d. When the computer reboots, open the Registry Editor and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC.
e. Create a new string value named Parameters.
f. Assign this value to the Parameters key:
\??\e:\csc
where e: is the drive letter you want to use.
1. Exit the Registry Editor and reboot the computer.
2. When the machine reboots, enable offline files.
3. Reboot the computer one last time. Now, you can start making folders available offline.
9: Disable User Account Control
One of the things about Vista that seems to irritate a lot of people is the User Account Control feature, an administrator is treated as a standard user. Administrators who attempt to perform an administrative action receive a prompt asking whether they initiated the action,here’s how to use the registry editor to suppress the prompt:
a. Navigate through the registry editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
b. Change the value of the ConcentPromptBehaviorAdmin key to 00000000.
10: Don’t display the last user who logged in
This is how you can tweak Window's not to display the name of the user who was logged in previously:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
b. Set the DontDisplayLastName key to a value of 1.
Thats it..enjoy :)
1: Increase the maximum number of simultaneous downloads
If you are a person like me always download a lot of stuff from the internet and irritated by windows limit of number of files to be downloaded simultaneously..here's how to tweak the registry so that Windows will let you download 10 files at a time here's how
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings.
b. Create a new DWORD named MaxConnectionsPerServer and assign it a value of 0000000a.
c. Create a new DWORD named MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and assign it a value of 0000000a.
2: Disable AutoPlay
How to just navigate quickly through the disc’s file system and go directly to what you need.here's how to create a registry setting that disables AutoPlay:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
b. Create a DWORD named NoDriveTypeAutoRun.
c. Set the value to 000000FF.
3: Change the name of the registered user
Here's how to change the name of the registered user
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion.
b. Change the values that are assigned to the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys to reflect the new ownership information.
4: Prevent the Recycle Bin from being deleted
If you want to prevent the Recycle Bin from accidental deletion, follow these steps:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCR\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}.
b. Create a new registry key called Shell.
c. Create a new registry key named Delete and put it beneath the Shell key. The path should look like this: HKCR\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell\Delete.
d. Modify the Default key and assign it a value of Recycle Bin.
5: Eliminate cached logons
Windows is designed to allow users to log on using cached logins if no domain controller is available to authenticate the request. If you want to make sure that a login request is always authenticated by a domain controller, you could change the number of cached logons that are allowed from 10 to 0 (or you could increase the number of cached logins allowed to 50). Here's how:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon.
b. Create a new REG_SZ setting named CachedLogonsCount.
c. Assign this new setting a value that reflects how many concurrent cached logins you want to allow.
6: Encrypt and decrypt from a shortcut menu
Normally, when you want to encrypt or decrypt a file in XP Pro or Vista, you just right-click on the file or folder and choose the Properties command from the shortcut menu. When the properties sheet appears, click the Advanced button on the General tab and then use either the Encrypt or the Decrypt option.
If you want ashortcut, you can add those options to the shortcut menu you see when you right-click on a file:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
b. Create a new DWORD called EncryptionContextMenu and assign it a value of 1.
7: Delay Windows Activation
Normaly, when an organization deploys Vista, it will create a master image, run SYSPREP, and deploy the image. The problem is that it might be a while between the time that SYSPREP is run and when Vista is actually deployed.
Microsoft will allow you to extend the activation period by 30 days, but you can do that only three times. You can use a registry hack this limitation:
a. Navigate through the registry to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SL.
b. Change the value associated with the SkipRearm key to 1.
c. Open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command: slmgr -rearm.
8: Relocate your offline files
When you use Vista’s Offline Files feature, the offline file cache is automatically placed on your C: drive.Her's how to transfer your file to your secondary hard drive...
a. Open the Control Panel and click on the Network And Internet link, followed by the Offline Files link. Windows will display the Offline Files properties sheet.
b. Disable offline files if they are currently enabled.
c. Click OK and reboot the machine.
d. When the computer reboots, open the Registry Editor and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC.
e. Create a new string value named Parameters.
f. Assign this value to the Parameters key:
\??\e:\csc
where e: is the drive letter you want to use.
1. Exit the Registry Editor and reboot the computer.
2. When the machine reboots, enable offline files.
3. Reboot the computer one last time. Now, you can start making folders available offline.
9: Disable User Account Control
One of the things about Vista that seems to irritate a lot of people is the User Account Control feature, an administrator is treated as a standard user. Administrators who attempt to perform an administrative action receive a prompt asking whether they initiated the action,here’s how to use the registry editor to suppress the prompt:
a. Navigate through the registry editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
b. Change the value of the ConcentPromptBehaviorAdmin key to 00000000.
10: Don’t display the last user who logged in
This is how you can tweak Window's not to display the name of the user who was logged in previously:
a. Navigate through the Registry Editor to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System.
b. Set the DontDisplayLastName key to a value of 1.
Thats it..enjoy :)
